Drew Fickett
 |
Name | Drew Fickett |
| Nickname | The Master / Night Rider | |
| Association | Southwest MMA | |
| Weight Class | Welterweight (170 lbs.) / Lightweight (155 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 10" (178 cm) | |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | December 14, 1979 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Tucson, Arizona | |
| Country | USA | |
| Drew Fickett Pictures | Fickett's Official Site |
Drew "The Master" Fickett is an American mixed martial artist who has competed as a Welterweight as well as a Lightweight. He has fought in major mixed martial arts promotions such as Rage in the Cage, the UFC, and Strikeforce.
His performances have been quite erratic, as he has had a major drinking problem, going as far as showing up to fight against MMA journeyman Shannon Ritch obviously intoxicated, and so much so he could not compete (See section below for details).
Fickett won the Shine Fights one-night, eight-man Lightweight Tournament, that took place on September 10, 2010.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 42 - 18 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 6 (T)KOs 28 Submissions 8 Decisions |
| Losses | 10 (T)KOs 4 Submissions 4 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Jonatas Novaes | TKO (Punches) | ShoFight: ShoFight 20 | 6/16/2012 | 1 | 0:51 | |
| Win | Kevin Knabjian | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WMMA 1: McCorkle vs. Heden | 3/31/2012 | 1 | 3:38 | |
| Loss | Jamie Varner | Submission (Punches) | XFC 16: High Stakes | 2/10/2012 | 1 | 0:40 | |
| Loss | Ronys Torres | Submission (Punches) | AFC: Amazon Forest Combat 1 | 9/14/2011 | 1 | 0:47 | |
| Loss | Tatsuya Kawajiri | TKO (Punches) | DREAM: Fight for Japan 2 | 7/16/2011 | 1 | 4:41 | |
| Loss | Brian Cobb | TKO (Punches) | MFC 30: Up Close and Personal | 6/10/2011 | 1 | 4:44 | |
| Win | Matt Veach | Submission (Armbar) | MFC 28: Supremacy | 2/25/2011 | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Win | Carlo Prater | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shine Fights 3: 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix | 9/10/2010 | 1 | 2:02 | Won Shine Fights 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix; Won Shine Fights Lightweight Championship |
| Win | Dennis Bermudez | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Shine Fights 3: 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix | 9/10/2010 | 1 | 2:02 | Shine Fights 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix Semifinal |
| Win | Charles Bennett | Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Shine Fights 3: 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix | 9/10/2010 | 1 | 3:34 | Shine Fights 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round |
| Win | Derrick Noble | Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | CFX: Mayhem in Minneapolis | 4/24/2010 | 2 | 1:09 | |
| Loss | Freddy Sandoval | KO (Knee) | RITC 133: Rage in the Cage 133 | 8/15/2009 | 1 | 0:28 | |
| Loss | Kyle Baker | TKO (Punches) | Cagefest Xtreme: All In | 4/25/2009 | 1 | 1:47 | |
| Loss | Nik Lentz | Decision (Unanimous) | SNMMA: Beatdown at 4 Bears | 3/21/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Tyler Stinson | TKO | C3 Fights: C3 Fights | 2/28/2009 | 1 | 3:55 | |
| Loss | Ferrid Kheder | KO (Punches) | C3 Fights: Knock-Out-Rock-Out Weekend | 1/30/2009 | 3 | 2:02 | |
| Win | Jason MacKay | Submission (Triangle Choke) | PFP: Wanted | 11/29/2008 | 1 | 3:25 | |
| Loss | Jose Cortez | Decision (Split) | RITC 117: Rage in the Cage 117 | 11/08/2008 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Loss | Jesse Taylor | TKO (Punches and Elbows) | TC 32: Total Combat 32 | 10/02/2008 | 1 | 1:42 | |
| Win | Joe Manzello | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | SCF: Silver Crown Fights | 8/08/2008 | 1 | N/A | |
| Loss | Richard Villes | TKO | RITC 113: Rage in the Cage 113 | 8/02/2008 | 2 | 0:34 | |
| Win | Jeff Horlacher | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | RITC 111: Rage in the Cage 111 | 6/07/2008 | 1 | 2:13 | |
| Win | Jae Suk Lim | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le | 3/29/2008 | 1 | 1:14 | |
| Win | Mark Weir | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | CR 24: Feel the Pain | 12/01/2007 | 1 | 3:55 | |
| Win | Anthony Lapsley | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | HDNF 1: HDNet Fights | 10/13/2007 | 1 | 3:55 | |
| Win | Keita Nakamura | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 9: Stevenson vs. Guillard | 4/05/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Karo Parisyan | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 7: Sanchez vs. Riggs | 12/13/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Fight of the Night Honors |
| Win | Kurt Pellegrino | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 61: Bitter Rivals | 7/08/2006 | 3 | 1:20 | |
| Loss | Josh Burkman | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | UFC Fight Night 3: Ultimate Fight Night 3 | 1/16/2006 | 1 | 1:07 | |
| Win | Josh Koscheck | Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Fight Night 2: Ultimate Fight Night 2 | 10/03/2005 | 3 | 4:38 | |
| Win | Josh Neer | Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC Fight Night 1: Ultimate Fight Night | 8/6/2005 | 1 | 1:35 | Came in as a late replacement |
| Win | Brandon Melendez | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | ROF 17: Unstoppable | 6/18/2005 | 1 | 2:27 | |
| Win | Robert Briggs | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | NOC: Night of Champions | 6/04/2005 | 1 | 3:00 | Took fight on 20 minutes notice |
| Loss | Nick Diaz | TKO (Punches) | UFC 51: Super Saturday | 2/5/2005 | 1 | 4:40 | |
| Win | Nuri Shakir | Submission | CZ 9: Hot Like Fire | 12/04/2004 | 2 | 3:26 | Defended Combat Zone Welterweight Championship |
| Win | Kenny Florian | Decision | CZ 7: Gravel Pit | 7/10/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Combat Zone Welterweight Championship |
| Win | Kyle Brees | TKO | XCF 5: Evolution | 5/28/2004 | 2 | N/A | |
| Win | Fabio Holanda | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WFF 6: World Freestyle Fighting 6 | 5/14/2004 | 2 | 0:37 | |
| Win | Shaun Beckett | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | ROTR: Rage on the River | 4/17/2004 | 2 | 1:10 | Won Rage on the River Tournament |
| Win | Carlo Prater | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | ROTR: Rage on the River | 4/17/2004 | 3 | 2:25 | |
| Win | Greg Bell | Submission (Choke) | RITC 56: Rage in the Cage 56 | 12/06/2003 | 3 | 2:43 | |
| Win | Dennis Hallman | Decision (Split) | KOTC 28: More Punishment | 8/16/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Landon Showalter | Submission (Triangle Choke) | UFCF: Summer Slam | 7/12/2003 | 1 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Shaun Beckett | Submission (Choke) | RITC 49: Stare Down | 6/07/2003 | 2 | 2:55 | |
| Win | John Lansing | Decision (Unanimous) | RITC 43: The Match | 1/18/2003 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Edwin Dewees | Decision | RITC 36: The Rematch | 6/22/2002 | 3 | 3:00 | Avenged first career loss |
| Win | John Lansing | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 35: This Time It's Personal | 5/03/2002 | 2 | 2:34 | |
| Loss | Edwin Dewees | Decision (Split) | RITC 34: Rage in the Cage 34 | 3/15/2002 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Kimo Stant | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 23: Rage in the Cage 23 | 12/06/2000 | 1 | 1:07 | |
| Win | Maurice Wilson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | CF: Cajan Fights | 12/02/2000 | 1 | 3:59 | |
| Win | Rock Lima | Submission (Choke) | RITC Tucson 5: Rage in the Cage Tucson 5 | 11/19/2000 | 1 | 0:28 | |
| Win | Jerry Parsons | Submission (Choke) | RITC 22: Rage in the Cage 22 | 11/08/2000 | 1 | 2:05 | |
| Win | Cedric Marks | Decision | AFC: Absolute Fighter Challenge | 10/12/2000 | 3 | N/A | |
| Win | Michael Chavez | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 21: Rage in the Cage 21 | 10/04/2000 | 1 | 0:57 | |
| Win | Ryan Brown | KO | RITC Tucson 4: Rage in the Cage Tucson 4 | 9/24/2000 | 1 | 1:16 | |
| Win | Bill Cameron | Decision | RITC 19: Rage in the Cage 19 | 7/26/2000 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Jeff Horlacher | Submission (Choke) | RITC 18: Rage in the Cage 18 | 6/21/2000 | 1 | 1:58 | |
| Win | Owen Phelps | Submission (Choke) | RITC: Tucson 1 | 5/27/2000 | 2 | 1:30 | |
| Win | Jamie Clark | Submission (Choke) | RITC 16: Rage in the Cage 16 | 4/12/2000 | 1 | 1:30 | |
| Win | Shawn Polso | Decision | RITC 4: Rage in the Cage 4 | 4/07/1999 | 3 | 3:00 | |
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Drew Fickett was wrestling at a community college in Tucson, Arizona when he became interested in MMA.
Fickett began competing in mixed martial arts in 1999, winning his first career fight by Decision. He fought a total of eleven times in 2000, winning each fights. From there he took an almost two year hiatus, when he got injured in a major car accident while riding his motorcycle. "I was hit by a truck and broke my knee and two bones in my foot...I spent like four years practicing in college, but I never really got to compete too much because of injury, and the lack of a red shirt I got." He added, "I couldn't do anything for like a year. I mean I still tried to lift, but obviously I couldn't lift my lower body." He returned to action where he was defeated by Edwin Dewees in a closely fought Decision (Split). After winning his next fight with an Armbar, Fickett faced off in a re-match with Dewees, this time avenging his first career loss by way of Decision.
He won the Combat Zone Welterweight title when he defeated Kenny Florian in July of 2007, and Fickett successfully defended it in his next fight, defeating Nuri Shakir.
UFC Career
Drew made his UFC debut at UFC 51: Super Saturday, in a losing effort against Nick Diaz. He was defeated by TKO (Punches).
After the Diaz fight, the UFC allowed him to take a fight outside of them. Drew was set to take on the very tough and battle tested Brandon Melendez, in his first fight outside of the UFC. A couple weeks before the Melendez fight, Drew was attending a small show in Arizona as a fan. Apparently Robert Briggsf opponent dropped out last minute and, in need of an opponent last minute, he suggested Fickett jump in as a replacement. Being the gamer that he is, Fickett accepted the challenge on about 20 minutes notice, pounded a couple hot dogs, jumped some rope and went to the ring and flat out dominated. Between rounds Briggs' corner threw in the towel.
Drew then made his way to Colorado for the Melendez fight. Drew again looked good, ending this fight in 2:27 of round one, winning by Rear Naked Choke.
After two fights in smaller shows, the UFC came calling when they needed a replacement to fight Josh Neer. Drew jumped at the chance and truly made the most of it, choking the highly touted new comer out cold in 1:35 of round one, again by RNC.
Drew's next fight was his first main card fight in the UFC and was against the undefeated wrestling phenom from The Ultimate Fighter season 1, Josh Koscheck. Koscheck controlled the action for the first two rounds and though Fickett was active from the bottom, he was clearly behind in the score cards. Round three was more of the same, with Koscheck controlling Fickett but not doing a ton of damage. With less than a minute to go in the fight, they were stood up due to a lack of action, and that was exactly the opportunity Fickett was looking for. As Koscheck shot, Drew threw a perfectly timed knee that floored Koscheck, and as he tried to get back to his feet, Drew jumped on his back, set the hooks and choked him unconscious with only 22 seconds left in the fight.
Drew then came in the favorite against yet another TUF veteran, Josh Burkman. Unfortunately for Drew this was not his night, and he found himself stuck in a tight Guillotine Choke early in the fight and was forced to tap out at 1:07 of round one.
In his next fight, Drew was matched up with BJJ black belt and wrestling expert Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino. This fight was a war from start to finish, and Fickett again found himself in a very close fight going into round three. After a takedown from Pellegrino, Fickett was on the bottom side mounted by the ground specialist. Fickett pushed the action from the bottom, forced a scramble and took Pellegrinos back. He quickly set the hooks and finished the fight via Rear Naked Choke at 1:20 of round three.
From there Fickett faced his toughest opponent yet when he took on former #1 contender Karo Parisyan. Many expected a very technical fight that spent most of the time on the mat. Both Karo and Drew were content to keep it standing for most of the fight, but also did their share of work on the ground. The fight was an absolute war that saw both guys land some shots standing up, as well as dish out a ton of punches and elbows on the ground. In a fight that saw both fighters bloody and battered, in the end it was Karo's fight. Karo was awarded a unanimous decision in a fight that the UFC deemed "Fight of the Night."
His last fight in the UFC took place at UFC Fight Night 9, where he faced off against Keita Nakamura, where Fickett won by Decision (Unanimous). He left the UFC with an overall UFC record of 4-3.
Post-UFC Career
Fickett fought on the first HDNet Fights event, where he faced Anthony Lapsley, earning a Rear Naked Choke win in the first round. From there he went over to England to compete with Cage Rage at their CR 24: Feel the Pain event. His opponent was former Cage Rage British Middleweight Championship Mark Weir, who was coming off a loss for the vacant Cage Rage World Welterweight Championship and the Cage Rage British Welterweight Championship. Once again Fickett ended the fight with a Rear Naked Choke in the first round to add another win to his win streak, which then stood at three fights in a row.
From there he fought for the San Jose, California based promotion Strikeforce, fighting in their Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le event, where he faced the then-SpiritMC Middleweight Champion, Jae Suk Lim. Early in the first round, Fickett added another submission win to his record, this time with a Guillotine Choke.
He went on to go 3-3 in his next six fights, competing in smaller promotions, competing against lesser known opponents, except one of his losses did come at the hands of The Ultimate Fighter alumni Jesse Taylor.
Fickett defeated Jason MacKay in his last fight of 2008, and went on to go on a five-fight slide. His first loss came at the hands of Judo practicioner Ferrid Kheder, and his second came at the hands of Tyler Stinson. The third loss was a Decision (Unanimous) loss to Nik Lentz, who used the win to propel himself into the UFC. His slide continued with a TKO (Punches) and KO (Knee) losses at the hands of Kyle Baker and Freddy Sandoval perspectively.
Fickett faced off against Derrick Noble at CFX: Mayhem in Minneapolis on April 24, 2010, and the bout had a bit of controversy. After going back and forth in an evenly contested first round, Fickett showed some slick jiu-jitsu skills as he transitioned from Leg Lock submission attempts to take dominant position and eventually secured Noble’s back. From there, Fickett worked for the Rear Naked Choke and eventually the referee stepped in to stop the fight thinking that Noble had been put out. Unfortunately Noble never actually tapped out and stood up protesting the stoppage immediately, looking to be perfectly fine. Early stoppage or not, it was Fickett with his hand raised. The win ended his five-fight losing streak, as he hadn't won a fight since 2008.
Shine Fights 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix
It was announced in August 2010 that Fickett would be a participant in a one night, eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix for the Shine Fights promotion. His opening round bout was against Charles Bennett, who he went on to defeat in the first round with a Guillotine Choke. In his semi-final fight, Fickett faced off against Dennis Bermudez, who defeated UFC veteran Shannon Gugerty to earn his spot in the semifinals. Fickett, once again, finished the fight in the first round, submitting Bermudez with a Rear Naked Choke.
The win earned him a spot in the tournament finals, against former WEC Welterweight title challenger and PFC Lightweight Champion Carlo Prater. Prater actually had lost his opening round fight against Richard Crunkilton, but with Crunkilton unable to continue due to a rib injury, Prater got his spot and second life in the tourney. Prater went on to defeat Charlie Brown, who won a reserve bout against Brian van Hoven and then replaced Kyle Baker, who was forced out of the tourney due to facial cuts.
Luckily for Fickett, he finished all his fights in the first round, where as both of Prater's previous fights in the tournament made it to the judges. Fickett capitalized and scored an early takedown. After working from top position and then taking the mount, he eventually took his opponent's back and forced Prater to tap out from a Rear Naked Choke at the 2:02 mark of the first round. The win earned him the title of Tournament Champion.
The finale actually was a rematch from 2004, when Fickett submitted Prater in the opening round of a Rage on the River tournament. Fickett also won that single-night tourney.
- "I'm back," he proudly proclaimed after his tournament run.
Alcoholic Behavior
In 2009, Fickett was expected to fight MMA journeyman Shannon Ritch at a Rage in the Cage event. After showing up, he was barred from fighting due to being heavily intoxicated. Shannon Ritch explains:
- "It's true... I showed up to fight, made weight, and waited for Drew. Drew finally showed up, saw him with the DR. Pre fight physcial and yep, he was a little wasted. Police were out front they gave Drew a breath-a-lizer, I believe I heard them say he blew a .18 (2X the legal limit). Its just sad, I am a huge Drew Fickett fan, he is a great fighter, but obviously has a problem. He is in a dark time in his life. I hope he gets it together."
- "All I can say about Rage In The Cage is they did the right thing. They paid me in full and even tried to get another fighter to replace Drew, no luck. Jpet and Roland did all they could to get the fight to happen, even going as far as giving Drew time to sober up, to no avail. He was just really drunk."
- "Im sad for the fans that bought tickets. I had over 100 people there from my home town to watch me fight. Maybe next time."
